Sports in Pakistan are facing manifold
challenges not only due to inefficient management but also due to lack of
sponsorship that is of vital importance for holding regular sports events, which
are necessary for promoting games at grass roots level.

Sponsorships are directly linked with
promotion of business activities. When trade and industry progresses not only
country's economy grows but also sponsorship comes for different games. In the
absence of sponsorships, it is not possible for organizers of different games to
hold events on regular basis. There is a dearth of refinements to talents in
Pakistan. What we need is to pick and groom the talent in a manner that we could
regain our lost glory in different games.

Pakistan was on the top position in the
world sports, be it cricket, hokey, or squash. Where we stand today should be a
point to ponder not only for the government but also for managers of these
games. There is a perception that celebrated sports reeled in to the downfalls
much because of their organizers and not any body else.

The country had not taken long to make
its mark in various sports after the independence. Despite the rapid strides in
the start, later it faced many obstacles such as poor funding, lack of
infrastructure, the improper organization and support. But somehow, the country
has managed to clinch the world champion titles in some sports. This was because
of the firm resolve of the few very high-spirited people who had the vision to
lead and bring moments of joy and pride for the nation.

Air Marshal Noor Khan was one of such
creditable personalities. He had the vision to grasp laurels in hockey and
cricket and some of his ideas have been recognized at international level.

Hockey and Polo are the national sports
of Pakistan but cricket is the most popular sport. Traditional games like
Kabaddi are also widely liked. The Ministry of Sports established Pakistan
Sports Board in 1962 as a corporate body for promoting and developing uniform
standards of competition in sports in Pakistan comparable to the international
standards, and regulating and controlling sports in the country. At present, the
board controls all 39 sporting federations in the country. The Pakistan Sports
Board is supported by the Pakistan Sports Trust, which facilitates participation
of players and associations in different games. Over recent years, there has
been an increase in sporting activity in Pakistan, with Pakistani sportsmen and
women participating at many national and international events.

However, due to security situation
international tournaments are not taking place in Pakistan.

The founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah had an immense love for sports. In a meeting with the
Organizing Committee of the First Pakistan Olympic Games held at Karachi, he
told the first President of Pakistan Olympic Association, Ahmed E.H. Jaffar:
"Dedicate yourself to sports promotion, for when you and I are gone, leadership
will go into the hands of Youth, and Youth is our wealth, a raw material, that
must be hammered into shape, into burnished steel to strive in defence - the
defence of the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan - the defence of the
ideology of Pakistan."

Over the years, sports have not
progressed due to lack of funds. This has seen Pakistan fall behind other
nations. However, since the late 90's, this trend has changed. Money is now
placed into sports and many of the federations are now managed by people who are
trying to push Pakistani sportsmen and women forward. There have also been
restructuring of national tournaments, and new facilities and equipment being
provided. However, a lot is still to be done to put in place a strong mechanism
for running sports bodies in a professional manner.

Unfortunately, terrorist attack on Sri
Lankan cricket team caused an irreparable loss to the game of cricket in
Pakistan. The internal power politics, bad management and indiscipline are other
gray areas for the game of cricket in the country.

Pakistan Cricket Board, in its first
ever major crackdown on players' power and in a firm resolve to enforce
discipline, imposed ban on former captains Younis Khan and Muhammad Yousaf.
Younis and Yousuf have been banned from playing for Pakistan in any format,
while former captain Shoaib Malik and all rounder Rana Navedul Hasan have been
banned for one year.

Twenty-20 captain Shahid Afridi has
been fined Rs3 million and the Akmal brothers (Kamran and Umer) were fined Rs3
and 2 million, respectively. Afridi and Akmal brothers were put on six-month
probation. "Younis and Yousaf keeping in view their infighting resulted in
bringing down the whole team. Their attitude had a bad influence on the whole
team and they should not be part of national team in any format," a spokesman of
PCB said.

The cases of indiscipline have also led
to one-year ban of Shoaib Malik and Rana Naveed and they have been fined Rs2
million each and they should not be part of national team for one year. A
warning was issued to Shahid Afridi for ball tampering and Akmal brothers by the
chairman PCB and they were put on probation for six months, during which their
conduct be strictly monitored.

Cricket experts believe that the
recommendations of the committee would go a long way to arrest the unrelenting
decline in Pakistani cricket and improve the state of cricket. "It is a landmark
exercise which is an outcome of labour and hard work of the members of the
committee", they observed.

It may be mentioned that after the
dismal tour of Australia, the chairman PCB, Muhammad Ijaz Butt constituted a
committee to assess and evaluate the performance of players on the tour. The
committee consisted of Wasim Bari (chairman), Wazir Ali Khoja, Yawar Saeed,
Zakir Khan and Taffazul Haider Rizvi as members looked into team discipline, its
performance during the tour, ball tampering incident involving Afridi and its
possible consequences under the central contract. The committee conducted
detailed interactive sessions with the persons appearing before it and
confronted the officials and the players of Pakistani cricket team with the
reports submitted to it and other materials available on print, internet and
electronic media.

The transcripts and team management
reports mentioned supra form an integral part of the committee's report. Former
cricketers were of the view that such action must have been taken much earlier
to ensure discipline.

It is alarming to note that the number
of sporting events is rapidly on downward trend. Sad to say the country has been
deprived of several billion rupees in sponsorships. For example, Pakistan was
ousted from hosting world cup cricket matches. ICC has struck out Pakistan from
the list of host countries of the cricket world cup due to security reasons.
People who are connected to different sports view that the invitation of a
foreign team or a player is currently similar to asking for the moon.

The image of sport in Pakistan has
already reached low and urgently needs a concerted effort for spruceness.
Pakistan should accept the ground realities and focus on increasing domestic
sports activities in the larger national interest. On one side, competition will
keep players in good form, while on the other side, they will be able to deliver
the good in the global events. Hockey, the national sport, has lost the taste of
the masses in the last ten years. The recent defeat in World Cup hockey should
be an eye opener for the present PHF management, which raised tall claims about
success of the team. In the matches, Pakistani hockey team was lacking fitness,
game plan and urge to victory.

It may be recalled that National Bank
of Pakistan has recently announced a fresh Rs 20 million sponsorship with the
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for the year 2010. This is third time in the
last six years that the NBP showed generosity to the PHF and committed itself to
provide new sponsorship to the national sport which was hit by lack of resources
in the past. In the year 2003, the NBP first time signed a two year sponsorship
with the then cash starved PHF and threw a life line to the national federation
with a two year sponsorship agreement which provided a total cash incentive of
Rs 20 million for the PHF. In this backdrop, we cannot blame lack of sponsorship
for rickety hockey team. We just need a disciplined and motivated team.

Through commitment and devotion, we can
put in place a system for promotion of different games, that is need of the
hour. We need leaders like Noor Khan to restore lost glory in different sports
such as hockey, cricket and squash.